Winnie's Letter
by Elemnestra Aethelflaeda
Summary: After Winnie died, she left a letter to be read by her children after her death. This is that letter. Oneshot, rating high to be safe R


**A/N: hi! This is just a short one-shot I wrote ages ago for school I thought I should put up. This is my first time, so be nice! I'd really appreciate reviews, too! (hint, hint) Basically what we had to write was a letter from Winnie to her children to be read after her death. We had to mention: what would she say to them about her experiences? The Tucks? Her choice? Jesse? Life in general? And we also had to include something about cages and wheels. But, on to the story...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the story... unfortunately.**

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_**Winnie's Letter to her Children**_

To my dearest children, Jesse and Mae,

Before anything else is said, I will say that I have always loved you, and no matter what happens, I always will. You are my only children, and I love you "as much as the sky".

By the time you read this, I will have gone from this world, whisked away with the wind, my journey across the lighted hall of life over. But I beg of you, don't be sad or unhappy for my sake. I will be looking down on you from heaven, watching over you. You both have long lives ahead of you, and you should enjoy them to the fullest.

I have a story for you. You do so enjoy stories, and so here is another for you to think about. It is true, but you may make up your own minds about that. You could easily discount it as the ramblings of an old woman, and justifiably so. But you should at least think about what I am about to tell you first, rather than simply dismissing it from your minds.

The story I am going to tell is mine, the only secret I have kept from you and your dear father all these years. It is about a family I knew only for a few days, but grew to love. Maybe I should not have kept this from you for so long, but I could not help it, I only wanted to protect you from possibilities of the past.

Have you ever wondered who you were named after? Or, indeed, whether you were named after anyone at all? Well, you were named after this family. How I would love to give you both a full recount of everything that happened. But I will give you the shortened version. Many, many years ago, when I was still a very young girl, I walked into the forest, which is there no longer, for the first time. I loved it immediately. But, walking, I stumbled upon a boy, a few years older than me, drinking from a spring. I wanted to have a drink too, but he refused, absolutely refused me my drink. But he was scared, and I found later that I had inadvertently found his family's secret, which they could not allow. His brother and mother, Miles and Mae, came along as we were arguing. They... well, I suppose you could say they kidnapped me, though they were just as scared as me.

They put me on their horse and took me along to the lake. There they explained why I could not drink from 'their' spring, just as I am telling you now. They did not know, at first, what drinking the water from the spring could do. But, unfortunately, they know only too well now. When I first met Jesse, the boy at the spring, he told me he was 104. I didn't believe him, of course – he looked more like he was 17 or so. However, I found out he was telling the truth – he really was 104. For that was what the water did – made you live forever, at the same age as when you drank the water. Now the wood has been burned down, there is no danger of you drinking any of that water – not that I would have stopped you if your heart was set upon it, but all the same... it does set me more at ease.

I would think that by now you have guessed the origins of your names. And you would be right in thinking that I named you after my first love, Jesse Tuck, and his mother Mae. And after they had taken me away, all would have been well if it had not been for "the stranger in the yellow suit" as I called him. He had seen me, and heard the Tucks' story, and wanted the magic water for himself, to sell. He came to take me back to my parents, so he could have our wood as a reward. But Mae, feared though she was, hit him around the head with a gun, and he fell to the ground. Soon after, he died and that meant that Mae would be hanged. But she escaped from the gaol, with her family's help, and mine.

But although, at your age, you may believe this water to be a wondrous thing, beyond contemplating, it is, I assure you, not at all good. Life is a wheel, always turning, never stopping, continuing to eternity. Everything is on the wheel, from the smallest flea to you and me. The wheel ensures that everything happens as it should – creatures are born, live, and die. Dying is right up there next to being born, and everyone and everything has its time. But the Tucks are not on the wheel. They are caged by something much, much greater than the wheel. As they are now, they aren't really living, they simply exist. They just _are_, like rocks by the road. As we were making plans to rescue Mae from the gaol, Jesse gave me a bottle. The bottle was full of water from the spring. He asked me to drink the water when I was seventeen and come and find him. But, though I was sorely tried and tempted, I finally decided not to drink it. And for a good reason, for otherwise you two, my dearest children, may not be here.

But you are here and the water is here no more. There is no danger from it anymore. All the same, you have to understand that there is nothing in this world worse than everyone knowing about the water, and drinking it.

There are so many things that I have thought of, know of, have learned. So many memories that will be here no longer when I am gone. But that is life, and I believe I would not give it up for anything. The one thing I truly wish is that once you are reading this, and I am gone from this world, look after each other, now that I can no longer be there. Pray over each other, watch over each other, and be careful for each other. It will be a great comfort for me to know that you are there for each other, loving each other, being each other's best friend, comforting each other. Please do this for me, if nothing else.

I hope that you will make the most of your time here, and have long and great lives, as have I. In your time you will come across many people, have many experiences. I do not expect you to excel in everything, but do what you think is best, and try your hardest.

You, my children have been the greatest joy in my life. You have made my life worthwhile and, yes, happy. Your lives will not always be perfect. Within your life, you will be jealous, envious, will hate. But you will, I am sure, love, hope and find kindness in yourself and others. Try, although it may sometimes be difficult, to be kind rather than jealous. When you are hard up and others have an easy life, do not envy them their happiness – be glad for them. You too will have your good times, as they will have their bad times.

I believed, when you were growing up, that I should not restrict your lives to the extent that my life was limited. I still believe that now, and hope that your children, my grandchildren, will be taught similarly. As you used to say, rules are there to be broken. So I made as few as possible. And look what fine children were produced! But there is, I believe, a fine line. Be careful not to let your children run wild.

My children, I always call you. For you shall, however old you become, always be my children. My precious children. It seems to be only yesterday that you were born. But of course, it wasn't yesterday. Time passes quickly, trapping us within the cage of age, becoming older. But the older you become, the wiser you become. And that is some sort of consolation.

Mae, Jesse, however rich or famous you become, or however poor, never forget your family. It is the one constant in your life, and you must never let it fade away. They are always there for you, and ready to help. Just do your best in life, take it as it comes. Cross each bridge as you come to it.

Use your imaginations. Your bodies may be trapped on the earth, your feet firmly on the ground, but your minds can take wings and fly through the skies. You are wonderful children, and I am so proud to be your mother. You can not even begin to imagine my love for you, greater than anything existent.

Remember, even if you cannot see me, even if I am not physically there, I will always be thinking of you, watching over you from above. Love finds a way through all barriers, even the final barrier, even Death.

Your loving mother,

Winifred Jackson

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**A/N: Wow, if you managed to read all this, I'm really impressed! Thanks for taking the time to read it. And please review.**

**Bye, **

**Elemnestra**


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